On Wednesday, September 27, 2023 CROWE and Young America’s Foundation (YAF) hosted Dr. Arthur Laffer for his lecture, “Does Taxing the Rich Work?”
Dr. Laffer addressed a crowd of about 150 UW-Madison students, faculty, alumni, and members of the community, and discussed U.S. wealth distribution and tax policy. In particular, he focused on how historic tax rates shaped the wealth distribution, and how this history shows a distinct correlation between raising the tax rate and an underperforming economy. He cited data and the Slutsky equation to further show that when tax rates increase, the wealthy earn less, report less, shelter more income, and ultimately are less incentivized to work. When tax rates fall, the reverse happens.
Dr. Laffer argued that the most efficient way to close the income inequality gap is not by increasing taxes, but instead by focusing on economic growth: job creation and opportunity expansion. His talk was followed by a Q&A session, in which he spoke on economic policies to avoid entering into recession, implementation and regulation of enterprise zones (tax-free pockets), and more.
Thank you for your continued interest and support of CROWE. We look forward to welcoming you at future events.
